CVE-2010-4708

The pam_env module in Linux-PAM (aka pam) 1.1.2 and earlier reads the .pam_environment file in a user's home directory, which might allow local users to run programs with an unintended environment by executing a program that relies on the pam_env PAM check.

Published: 2011-01-24 Last update: 2026-04-29 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2010-4708 is rated Low Risk (39/100): CVSS High severity, with low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.37%). Mandatory action: Monitor for updates and reassess as exploit intelligence or EPSS changes.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2010-4708

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2026-06-15 0.10% 0.37% +0.27%
2 2025-12-28 0.05% 0.10% +0.05%
3 2025-03-30 0.05%

Full EPSS history (6 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2010-4708

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
7.2 2.0 HIGH
AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C Click to expand
Access vector (AV:L)
Requires local access to the target system.
Access complexity (AC:L)
Exploitation conditions are straightforward and predictable.
Authentication (AU:N)
No authentication is required.
Confidentiality impact (C:C)
Complete confidentiality impact.
Integrity impact (I:C)
Complete integrity impact.
Availability impact (A:C)
Complete availability impact.
3.9 10.0 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2010-4708

OS Trackers for CVE-2010-4708

vendor priority summary link
debian low CVE-2010-4708 low priority: Debian including 1 source packages (pam), 5 status rows across 5 suites (bookworm, bullseye, forky, sid, trixie): resolved 5. https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2010-4708
gentoo high CVE-2010-4708: 1 GLSA(s) (201206-31), 1 atom(s) (sys-libs/pam); latest impact high. https://bugs.gentoo.org/buglist.cgi?quicksearch=CVE-2010-4708
redhat low https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2010-4708
ubuntu low CVE-2010-4708 low priority: Ubuntu including 1 source packages (pam), 7 status rows across 7 suites (dapper, hardy, karmic, lucid, maverick, natty, upstream): ignored 6, needs-triage 1. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2010-4708

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2010-4708

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
linux-pam linux-pam <= 1.1.2 cpe:2.3:a:linux-pam:linux-pam:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux-pam linux-pam 0.99.1.0 cpe:2.3:a:linux-pam:linux-pam:0.99.1.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux-pam linux-pam 0.99.2.0 cpe:2.3:a:linux-pam:linux-pam:0.99.2.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux-pam linux-pam 0.99.2.1 cpe:2.3:a:linux-pam:linux-pam:0.99.2.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux-pam linux-pam 0.99.3.0 cpe:2.3:a:linux-pam:linux-pam:0.99.3.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux-pam linux-pam 0.99.4.0 cpe:2.3:a:linux-pam:linux-pam:0.99.4.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux-pam linux-pam 0.99.5.0 cpe:2.3:a:linux-pam:linux-pam:0.99.5.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux-pam linux-pam 0.99.6.0 cpe:2.3:a:linux-pam:linux-pam:0.99.6.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux-pam linux-pam 0.99.6.1 cpe:2.3:a:linux-pam:linux-pam:0.99.6.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux-pam linux-pam 0.99.6.2 cpe:2.3:a:linux-pam:linux-pam:0.99.6.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux-pam linux-pam 0.99.6.3 cpe:2.3:a:linux-pam:linux-pam:0.99.6.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux-pam linux-pam 0.99.7.0 cpe:2.3:a:linux-pam:linux-pam:0.99.7.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux-pam linux-pam 0.99.7.1 cpe:2.3:a:linux-pam:linux-pam:0.99.7.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux-pam linux-pam 0.99.8.0 cpe:2.3:a:linux-pam:linux-pam:0.99.8.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux-pam linux-pam 0.99.8.1 cpe:2.3:a:linux-pam:linux-pam:0.99.8.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux-pam linux-pam 0.99.9.0 cpe:2.3:a:linux-pam:linux-pam:0.99.9.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux-pam linux-pam 0.99.10.0 cpe:2.3:a:linux-pam:linux-pam:0.99.10.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux-pam linux-pam 1.0.0 cpe:2.3:a:linux-pam:linux-pam:1.0.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux-pam linux-pam 1.0.1 cpe:2.3:a:linux-pam:linux-pam:1.0.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux-pam linux-pam 1.0.2 cpe:2.3:a:linux-pam:linux-pam:1.0.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux-pam linux-pam 1.0.3 cpe:2.3:a:linux-pam:linux-pam:1.0.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux-pam linux-pam 1.0.4 cpe:2.3:a:linux-pam:linux-pam:1.0.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux-pam linux-pam 1.1.0 cpe:2.3:a:linux-pam:linux-pam:1.1.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux-pam linux-pam 1.1.1 cpe:2.3:a:linux-pam:linux-pam:1.1.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2010-4708

cvelogic Threat Intelligence